Strength in the Stars
by courtinelly
Summary: Anna is broken and alone at King's Drop bridge when a certain Doctor comes along for a heart to heart. I love writing stories with original characters and I really hope you like this one. A one shot that could possibly become more.


**Hey guys! Soo I have this story idea but haven't sat down to really type it out yet. Here's a one shot from the story. I've decided that if it gets good feedback and reviews, I'll probably go ahead and type out the whole thing. If it doesn't, well... we'll just have to see. lol**

**I feel like I should put a trigger warning on this. It does deal with suicide and mentions of self harm.**

**Thanks!**

Anna closed her eyes and sighed as she leaned on the railing of King's Drop bridge. A soft breeze was blowing, and her hair was causing slight tickling sensations as it brushed across her cheeks. She was lost in thought at the moment, letting the silence of the night block her mind from the rest of the world around her. She needed to be alone right now, although, alone was all she ever seemed to be.

Opening her eyes, Anna took in the night sky above her. It was absolutely beautiful. The moon was full and since she was on the edge of town, away from all the shops and lights, the stars were shining so bright it took her breath away. She silently wished she could just stare at this sight forever. _Maybe that's what my heaven could be._ She thought, before quickly pushing it away. She didn't want to think of heavens right now. With the plans she had at the moment, she wasn't even sure she'd be accepted into one.

Anna had come to King's Drop bridge with a purpose, the purpose of finally being able to silence the rest of the world and, hopefully, find her own peace. King's Drop bridge had a hefty reputation of being where many people met the end of their lives. It was the highest bridge for miles, and it had the allure of being way on the edge of town where no one would even think to look until it was too late. Anna had taken advantage of this, knowing that no one would even realize she wasn't around until a day or two later. She looked down into the dark water below the bridge and felt her heart skip a beat.

"Well that's a long way down, isn't it?" A voice came from Anna's left and she spun around to see who it belonged to. A man with brown spikey hair and dressed in a brown suite was leaning his lanky frame over the railing and looking down. "I'd sure hate to tumble over that." The man turned to look at Anna, a huge grin spread across his face. "Hello there. What's your name?" His grin never faulted as he waited for Anna to answer, and after a moment she managed to at least mumble a quiet hello before turning away from him again. She was hoping the man would go away, but based on the way he was still waiting for an answer, it didn't seem very likely.

"What, so, no name then?" The man continued to smile, pressing his tongue to the roof of his mouth in a playful way. It took ever ounce of willpower for Anna to not roll her eyes at the man's extreme cheerfulness.

"It's Anna." She finally said, forcing herself to smile and face him. She really just wanted him to leave. This was supposed to be her moment to make peace and say goodbye, but he was ruining it. All she wanted was to be left alone.

"Anna! That's a lovely name." The man reached out a hand to shake hers and she reluctantly complied. After a moment, however, she jerked her hand away when she saw that her jacket sleeve had ridden up her arm, revealing a cluster of thin scars trailing along her wrist. Her eyes shot up to the man's face, searching to see if he had seen the scars. The look in his eyes let her know he had, and she felt a blush creep across her cheeks as she turned back towards the railing. To Anna's surprise, the man didn't say anything about the scars. He just mirrored her action and once again started looking down at the water below. A small pang of guilt ran through Anna when she snuck a glance and saw that a smile was no longer lighting up the man's face. A few long, silent, moments filled the air between them before the man started to speak.

"You know, I think the highest bridge I ever crossed was about two miles high. I went across it with a tour group that was making their way around a place called Kneff. Kneff, beautiful place, is over in the..." The man trailed off and paused a moment, looking for the right words. "Well, it's... it's... never mind where it is. Just know it's far away from.. here..." The man cleared his throat as Anna stared at him in confusion. "Anyway," he continued. "One of the women from our tour group took one look over the edge and turned white as a ghost, which was quite impressive, really, considering that she was originally green." The man turned to Anna with an amused smile on his face. She couldn't help but smile back.

"So, know many green women then?" She heard herself ask. When she realized what she'd done, she could have kicked herself. She wanted him to go away and leave her alone. She shouldn't be encouraging his need to make conversation.

"Oh, you'd be surprised." The man raised his eyebrows and let a lazy smile spread across his face. Anna noted how comfortable he seemed to just be standing on this bridge, making conversation with a complete stranger. She, on the other hand, felt like running away as fast as she could and never looking back. How must she look like to him? A young dark haired girl standing on this bridge alone in the middle of the night, lost in thought with scars lining her wrists. He had to be able to see how messed up she was. The distressed look in his eyes when he would glance at her let her know that he knew what she had come here to do. She hated that he wouldn't leave and just let her get on with it. It was her choice after all. After a minute she decided to just bring it out in the open. Maybe he would just feel awkward and walk away.

"So what are you doing out here this late anyway?" She finally asked. The man knew where this conversation was about to go, and awkwardly used his right shoe to rub off a smudge from the left one.

"Eh, just wandering around a bit. That's what I do. I'm a wanderer. Seeing new places, visiting new citi..." Anna cut him off before he could finish.

"Don't you wanna know why I'm out here this late?" She studied the man's face for any kind of reaction, but most of it stayed blank except for his eyes. Those were his tell, and right now, they were full of sadness. He wouldn't turn to look at her, however, he just placed all his focus on a small chip in the paint on the railing. Finally he spoke.

"Oh, I have an idea." He sighed softly and looked over at Anna. A small frown crossed his lips when he met her eyes. "I know they call this King's Drop bridge for a reason." He watched Anna's eyes fall to study her shoes, and it took all he had to not reach out to her when he saw a flash of pain cross her face. He wanted to be a comfort to her, but he hadn't been around her long enough to know how she'd respond if he touched her. Instead he shoved his hand in his pockets and waited for her to talk.

"I know it makes me seem like a coward." she whispered, still staring at the ground. "But I swear I'm not." She lifted her head to look at the man. "I'm just tired, you know?" She heard her voice shake on the last word and she tried her best not to crack, but after a quick moment or two, a tear was sliding down her cheek. She stiffened as the man reached out and wiped the tear away.

"Oh I would never think you're a coward." he said. "I'd say you're one of the strong ones, you are. When there's something hurting you so much that it causes that." He motioned his head towards her wrist. "I think you're strong just to get out of bed in the morning." He stared into her eyes as he watched a small piece of her armor fall down from around her. He knew she just needed to be encouraged, loved, shown that she was really something in this world. Everyone needed those things, and it broke both his hearts to see that this girl must not receive any of them.

"It just hurts," she said, her voice starting to shake even more. "To get up in the morning. It hurts." Anna felt her lip start to tremble and she willed herself to stay strong and not show her weakness. She didn't want to let her walls down in front of this stranger, that's not what she had come here to do. The man gave her a soft smile.

"It does hurt. I know it does, but you know what makes you humans so brilliant? The fact that you can still find joy through the hurt and just keep carrying on." The man was grinning wide at Anna now, and she felt her defenses start to break entirely. Before she knew it, she was wrapped up in this strangers arms, a steady flow of tears spilling down her cheeks. She didn't know why she was trusting this person, but at that moment she was the most comfortable she had been in months.

She didn't know how long she had been standing on that bridge, crying into this strangers chest and listening to him make soft calming sounds in her ear, but after what felt like hours, she finally pulled away and started wiping tears from her face. "I'm sorry." she mumbled. "I don't know why I did that." She looked up at the man and gave him a soft smile that matched his own.

"Are you feeling okay now?" the man asked, reaching out to wipe one of the remaining tears off Anna's cheek. "I don't want you to come anywhere near this bridge once I'm gone. You're stronger than that. I know it." Anna felt a small wave of sadness come over her when the man mentioned going away. She didn't know what she had been expecting, she didn't even know him.

"I'm fine." she whispered before clearing her throat to strengthen her voice. "What's your name anyway? I just realized I never asked." The man gave a smile that Anna felt like was a secret he had with himself.

"I'm the Doctor."

"The Doctor? Doctor of what?" Anna felt a slight panic rise up in her chest. The last thing she needed was a doctor thinking she was crazy.

"Just the Doctor. It's my name I guess you'd say." He grinned. Anna had another question enter her mind and she felt that she should ask it before she forgot.

"What did you mean earlier? When you said that humans were brilliant... Aren't you a human?" She was a little surprised when the Doctor let out a short laugh.

"Let's just say, Anna, that there is more out there in the world that you haven't even begun to imagine. Not even just the world, but the entire universe. It's magical up there, Anna. It really is." Anna followed his gaze and her eyes landed on the cluster of stars up above. A little while earlier, those start had felt like a goodbye. Maybe now though, they could stand for a renewed strength. After a few minutes, she tore her eyes from the sky and met eyes with the Doctor.

"I need to go now, Anna, but I want you to promise that you'll stay safe." The Doctor reached out and took one of Anna's hands in his. He turned it over and gently pulled up the sleeve of her coat. "I know you hurt sometimes, but please, please don't bear that pain on yourself." The Doctor bent his head and pressed a quick kiss to the scars on her wrist and Anna felt a blush spread across her cheeks. She felt shame start to build in her as she knew she probably couldn't keep the Doctor's wishes. He just didn't understand what she had to deal with when she got home. He didn't see the thing that was far worse than the scars.

"Do you think I'll ever get to see you again?" Anna asked, her voice shaking slightly. The Doctor smiled a smile that reached all the way to his eyes.

"Oh I believe you will. Just keep an eye out for me. Eyes to the skies as they say." He released her hand and shoved his into his pockets while he rocked back and forth on his heels. "I'm never far away, even with the entire universe at my feet."

Anna couldn't help herself. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the Doctor with so much force he laughed and almost tumbled over. He hugged her back tightly and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Stay safe, Anna." he whispered before turning around and walking down the long walk of King's Drop bridge. Anna smiled as she took one final glance at the water before turning around and heading the other way, back to her life that she now felt strong enough to take on.

**So that's the first Doctor Who thing I've ever written andd I really hope you guys liked it. Don't forget to leave reviews! Please and thank you. :]**

**~Courtinelly**


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